Coly Den Haan, Vinovore
Chumash, Tongva and Kizh land - Los Angeles, California, US
Wine shop
www.vinovore.com, @vinovorela
A third generation restaurateur, Coly Den Haan has the business in her blood. She was raised in Santa Barbara, where her first after school job at the age of fourteen was as a busgirl at a busy State Street Cafe. After moving to Los Angeles, she quickly accumulated experience in a myriad of capacities at Fred Segal’s famous Mauro’s Café, Farfalla on La Brea, and Barney Greengrass on the roof of Barney’s New York in Beverly Hills. She became a certified Sommelier with AIS & NASA specializing in Italian wines in 2008 and a certified beer specialist, in 2009.
The Must opened in December of 2008 to rave reviews and an enthusiastic welcome from the neighborhood. The subsequent evolution of The Must was closely related to the symbiotic relationship Coly developed with their neighborhood patrons. Within a year of opening, The Must won various awards and received numerous press pieces in Bon Appetite magazine, the L.A. Times, the L.A. Weekly, Sunset Magazine, NBC, Urban Daddy and Thrillist, among many others. It was voted best neighborhood bar in 2009 by the readers of the Downtown News Press and was lauded as best happy hour in Los Angeles by Los Angeles Magazine in 2009.
Coly, along with business partners went on to open Perch, an 11,000 square foot, three-story bar and restaurant. The name, design, public relations, launch, menu, logo, concept, indeed, Perch’s entire identity was a product of the partner’s knowledge and creativity. In August of 2011, Perch opened to rave reviews, was an instant success, and quickly became a downtown institution. Like the Must, Perch received numerous write-ups and awards and required no operating capital whatsoever from day one.
In early 2012 Coly decided to leave Perch in order to refocus her attentions on reopening The Must.